MOVIESEastwood's latest "Unforgiven" is Clint Eastwood's...

MOVIES

Eastwood's latest "Unforgiven" is Clint Eastwood's best film in years, both as a director and an actor. He plays an ex-gunman who goes back into the killing business and heads off to rub out two bad cowboys who've cut a woman's face up. The real tension in the movie is between the fanciful mythology of the west and the squalid reality. Great performances by Gene Hackman, Richard Harris and Morgan Freeman keep the movie remorseless and honest, at least until a final shootout that feels somewhat Hollywood-phoney. R. ***. Vaclav Havel, who recently resigned as president of Czechoslovakia, began work on "Temptation" when he was a political prisoner in that country. The play is a version of the Faust legend, and the affiliation of the Mephistopheles character is deliberately ambiguous. Is he the devil, an informer, or the government? Havel's point seems to be that there's no difference. The Bowman Ensemble, which is presenting "Temptation" tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. outdoors at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, is to be commended for a production that is both intelligent and entertaining. Tickets are $10. Call [phone].

TELEVISION

No competition for Olympics finale

David Zurawik

The competition is mainly getting out of the way for the finale of the Summer Olympics starting at 7 tomorrownight on WMAR-TV (Channel 2). The closing ceremonies are must-viewing, even if you hate TV coverage of the games -- or, especially if you hate TV coverage of the games. The false emotion and overblown commentary that has characterized NBC's coverage should be at fever pitch.

POP MUSIC

22 Lynch Mob's hero

J.D. Considine

It used to be that a guitar hero was one whose guitar solos stole the spotlight away from the singer -- the band's real hero. But George Lynch has always been the kind of guitarist whose playing, no matter how flashy it might seem on the surface, invariably adds to the music he's making. That's why he's the real hero in Lynch Mob, and why every guitar fan in the area is likely to be at Hammerjacks to see the band tonight. Tickets are $7.50, and the doors open at 8 p.m. Call [phone] for information, [phone] for tickets.